INQToday: VP Duterte skips NBI probe, denies making threats in letter
Vice President Sara Duterte was again a no-show at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is investigating her threat to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if she too gets killed.
Instead, her lawyer submitted a letter stating that she is denying threatening the President, the First Lady, and the House Speaker.
The Sandiganbayan has junked two of the eight ill-gotten wealth cases against the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., his wife Imelda, and the late tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., over the alleged anomalous purchase of a controlling stake in United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) as well as the acquisition of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) shares using the controversial coconut levy funds.
In dismissing the civil cases, the antigraft court’s Second Division cited in its Dec. 6 resolution the motion of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), to waive its claim for civil damages that it earlier sought.
The number of offshore gambling firms that are still operating in the country has gone down to 17, with the gaming regulator declaring that all licenses in the controversial industry will be cancelled by the end of December.
At a forum organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute on Tuesday, Alejandro Tengco, chair and CEO of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), said that even before he assumed office last August, hundreds of licenses of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) had been put on “probationary status” for being involved in scams.
